Glossary · Training
Recovery week
A recovery week, or deload week, is a planned week of reduced training, usually every third or fourth week. It lets your body absorb the previous block's training, so you start the next block fresher and adapt more from it.
How to plan one
Cut total volume by roughly 30–50% and shorten the long sessions, but keep some short intensity so you don't lose sharpness. Many athletes schedule a fitness test at the end of a recovery week, when they are fresh enough to give a true result.
Why they work
Fitness gains happen during recovery, not during the training itself. Without regular easier weeks, fatigue accumulates and performance stalls — a common path to overreaching.
In The Next Race
The Next Race's longer plans include a recovery week every three or four weeks, cutting volume by about 30%.